


The Rules of the Road

by here4thereylo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff, High School AU, Learning to Drive, Modern AU, Teenage Ben, Teenage Rey, cavity inducing fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 23:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20496767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/here4thereylo/pseuds/here4thereylo
Summary: Ben gives Rey some much needed driving lessons.





	The Rules of the Road

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhh thank you so much to sunshineflying for beta-Ing and for the beautiful moodboard!!!!!! I am terrible with technology so everyone go search her username in ao3, I’m obsessed with her fics The Prince Diaries, and Paradise Island!!

“You’re going to need to open your eyes if you want to go anywhere.”

Rey was sitting in the driver’s seat of Ben’s Ford Falcon, hands gripping the wheel and her eyes squeezed shut. The car wasn’t even on; they were parked in the parking lot of their high school. She took a deep breath, exhaled and opened her eyes. She turned over to Ben and gave him a hard look.

“Excellent advice, Ben. I’m sure next you’ll tell me I need to turn the car on.” Rey snapped.

“Whoa, hey, I was just trying to lighten the mood a little bit. We don’t have to do this today. Or ever, if you really don’t want to.”

Exactly nine days ago, not that Ben was counting, Rey marched up to him in the middle of lunch and demanded that he teach her how to drive. Ben remembered it vividly; he was with Hux and Poe, loitering in the outdoor courtyard just between the atrium and the cafeteria. The April weather had been too perfect to stay in the overcrowded cafeteria, sixty-five degrees and the sun shining so bright it warmed their skin and made them all yearn for summer break. He had been standing, facing away from the cafeteria doors, listening to Poe ramble on about some cute guy in their physics class. Hux had been listening, his face betraying the hurt he was trying to hide at Poe talking about someone else. Ben knew Hux had been crushing on Poe for forever, but was too chicken to do anything about it. Poe was oblivious to all of this, of course.

Then the doors of the cafeteria had exploded open, and the tiny spitfire that was Rey Johnson walked right up to Ben and tapped him on the shoulder, asking him right then and there if he was free next weekend and could maybe teach her how to drive, pretty please? He had been so astounded, he mutely nodded, eyes locked on hers as she smiled at him. She thanked him, gave him her phone number, and walked back inside.

He was surprised to see that she wanted to talk to him. It’s not that they weren’t friends - they knew each other - they were just more like acquaintances. They’d had several classes together over the years, but interacted very little. He wasn’t actually sure, up until this moment, that Rey even knew who he was. He definitely knew who she was, though. She had invaded his thoughts since the seventh grade, when he stopped thinking that girls had cooties. Her effervescent personality, her vibrant smile, her long, tan legs. Poe always made fun of how much time Ben spent watching Rey, wishing he could build up the nerve to just _ talk to her _. 

Now he had his chance and he was already royally screwing it up.

Rey looked back at Ben, and her face softened. “No, I want to do this. Sorry for snapping I just...driving just doesn’t bring up a lot of positive memories for me and I have a lot of anxiety about getting behind the wheel.” 

Ben’s hand found its way to her shoulder and started absentmindedly rubbing back and forth in a soothing motion between her shoulder and neck. Rey leaned towards him a little, visibly relaxing from her tense grip she still held on the steering wheel. They stayed like that, in silence, for about thirty seconds. Then Ben realized he was touching Rey after dreaming about doing this very thing for years, and quickly dropped his hand. Rey looked at him questioningly, and in his attempt to cover for his awkward realization, he cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“Well, ahem, the best way to uh...hold the wheel is not actually at 10 and 2 like everyone says. It’s more of like a...5 and 7. Um…” Ben stammered, completely flustered from his brief direct contact with Rey’s shoulder. He glanced at Rey, looked up at the ceiling of the car, huffed out a breath, and looked down at his hands. Rey turned back at him, and noticed the tips of ears that were poking through his hair were fire engine red and a slight twitch just barely noticeable under his left eye.

“Ben. Why are you the nervous one? I’m the one that’s never driven before.” 

She smirked at him a little bit. 

Ben worked his jaw, determined to get the lesson back on course. He wouldn’t let his own misguided feelings make Rey uncomfortable. Instead he blurted out, “Why did you pick me?”

“What do you mean, why did I pick you?”

“To teach you how to drive. Surely Finn or Rose would want to teach you, or any of your other friends.”

“Well, Finn did try. But it was a disaster. I mastered some of the basics, and he graduated me from the parking lot to the neighborhoods. I was doing okay. Finn was texting, and then looked up and realized he wanted me to take the next left hand turn. We were right on it, so I took it pretty fast. Wayyyy too fast actually...I swear we lifted off onto two wheels, and the next thing I knew he was bracing himself...on my boob. We both laughed it off but it was...awkward.” 

Rey blushed a little bit, giggling, while Ben laughed awkwardly. It managed to break the tension in the car, at least a little bit.

Well fuck, now Ben was thinking about touching her boob. Clearly that would not be a welcome gesture, but now he couldn’t get the image of his hand on her tit out of his head. He imagined what it would feel like, how it would fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. They looked at each other again, Ben’s blush becoming more furious when their eyes locked, as if he thought she could read his mind. Her cheeks pinked a little bit too. _ Well that’s new _ , he thought to himself. _ Is she picturing it too? _Ben ran his hand through his hair again. He had to stop being a perv and just teach her how to drive like she asked. 

“Well, now that I know that, is it too late to get out of this car?” Ben joked; but it fell flat. 

Rey gave a halfhearted chuckle, but then started chewing the skin on the side of her thumbnail. She was nervous again. Ben made it his mission to get over his filthy daydreams and do what Rey asked of him. His feelings were so strong for her and had been for years; this was the least he could do.

Ben cleared his throat again, and tried a different approach. “Okay, so, we’ve got our steering wheel situated. Your seat is good? Not too far away from the pedals?” Rey nodded in confirmation. “Okay, I think we’re okay to turn the car on now.” 

Rey did just that, the Falcon purring to life. Ben loved this car - his dad would kill him if he knew he was using it to teach a girl how to drive. On second thought, Han was always joking with him that needed a girl in his life; maybe he would let it slide this time.

“Okay, perfect. Now, we’re just going to circle the perimeter of the parking lot a couple of times. Get you comfortable behind the wheel again. Does that sound okay?” 

Ben made sure his tone was soft and reassuring. No need to put Rey back on edge for the trillionth time before they even put the car in drive. Rey nodded again, and put the car in drive. They slowly, _ slowly _ circled the parking lot a couple of times. 

“Rey, did you even put your foot on the gas at any point?” Ben needled her a little bit, a smile on his face to hopefully indicate he was messing with her. 

She slammed on the brake and jerked them to a stop while rolling her eyes. “Ben, what’s the point of pushing on the gas if we’re not _ going _ anywhere? I did the parking lot thing with Finn. I want you teach me how to drive, not babysit me.” 

She looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. This was good - at least she wasn’t nervous anymore.

“Okay, okay, I hear you! Let’s get on the road. How far away do you live from school?”

“What are you insinuating, Ben Solo?”

Ben blushed again. He wasn’t sure what he was insinuating, to be honest. “Nothing, I swear! I just figured, we’re in my car, depending on how far away you live it would be good experience for you, and then at the end of the driving lesson we’d already be at your house.” 

He figured that logic was safe. He certainly wasn’t thinking about getting to spend more alone time with Rey, definitely not.

Rey looked like she didn’t quite believe him. “That’s sweet and all, but I’d rather not drive that way. Where else did you have in mind?” She threw a flirty smile his way. Or, what he interpreted to be a flirty smile. He had to remind himself again to not be a creep, she was just being nice and conversational. Damn, why was it so easy for her to fluster him? And then, suddenly, he got an idea.

“Let’s drive to Wendy’s. My treat.” 

Rey didn’t need any more encouragement. 

***

After a hair-raising jaunt to Wendy’s wherein Rey barely avoided three separate accidents, they were in a different parking lot, munching on fries and frosties. Ben never thought he’d be able to spend this much time with Rey, and he was going to do whatever he could to continue the afternoon for as long as possible. He turned to see Rey dipping each French fry lovingly into her frosty before shoveling it in her mouth. He stared at her in awe. How could eating French fries be so sexy? She caught him staring, again, and her cheeks pinked as she swallowed her bite. “Why do you keep looking at me?” she asked him curiously. 

“Because you’re beautiful,” he said without his brain processing the words that exited his mouth. 

As soon as his head caught up to him, he went wide eyed and blushed profusely. “I...what I meant was…” he stammered out, not sure how to recover. 

Shit. He was ruining this.

Except… Rey didn’t seem mortified. In fact, her cheeks had pinked further and she ducked her head to hide her smile. “You think I’m beautiful?” 

She bit her bottom lip and oh, that did things to Ben. He put another French fry in his mouth, but then realized she was probably expecting a response, and in his rush to swallow and reply started choking on it. He bent over to cough, and Rey started whacking him on the back with all her force to try to help him out. He finally settled down, and found that Rey was reciprocating his earlier actions by now rubbing her hand up and down his back in a soothing motion.

He stayed, hunched over so that she wouldn’t stop her movements, and looked over at her. “Sorry I seem to have forgotten how to be a normal functioning human being,” he said to her, shaking his head. 

“Don’t apologize, Ben. It’s really cute how worked up you get.” 

Rey smiled at him, and it was the most dazzling thing he’d ever seen. He would never get tired of seeing her smile, especially when it was directed at him. “If you thought I was beautiful though, why have you never said anything before? Why do you never talk to me at school?” 

Her smile dimmed a little at that, and Ben straightened up quickly. Rey went to drop her arm from his back, but before it could return to her lap Ben grabbed for it and held it with both of his massive hands.

“Rey, if you couldn’t tell, I’m not the smoothest guy out there.” 

Rey giggled at that, smile returning to full wattage. “You always look so happy with your friends, I never knew how to approach you. And you always seem so close to that Finn guy. Then you tell me he’s gotten to second base with you…”

“Ben!” Rey giggled again. “Finn is my best friend. He and I lived in the same foster home for awhile a few years back. If you’re worried about him, you shouldn’t be. Other than him maybe being overprotective.” 

Rey looked down at where their hands were joined.

“Foster home?” Ben asked. His left eye twitched again. Rey sighed, almost as if she regretted mention the word ‘foster.’ “You don’t have to say anything, I just....didn’t know.”

“No, no. It’s okay, I don’t mind.” Rey smiled weakly and continued. “My parents died in a car crash when I was six. I was in the back seat of the car. I found out later they were drunk off their asses. They had been on a bender and had just picked me up from the babysitter’s. I’ve been in foster care ever since. It’s not so bad sometimes. Like Plutt, my current guardian, leaves me alone...most of the time.” 

Her hesitation at that made Ben worry his jaw back and forth, another nervous habit of his, but he didn’t press her. She was already opening up more in the last couple hours than he managed to talk to her all school year. “Now you can probably see why I have been putting off learning to drive.” 

She sniffled a little bit at the confession, and Ben rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. She quickly wiped under her eyes with her free hand. “Sorry, didn’t mean to get sappy there. What were we talking about?”

Ben looked at her so deeply, staring into her wide, hazel eyes. All he could think of in that moment was how much he wanted to care for her, protect her from any future harm. That no one should have to grow up like her, being herded from home to home. His emotions surged and before he could put them back in check he moved his hand from his hold on hers, caressed her cheek, and pulled her in for a kiss. She was surprised at first, emitting a small squeak as their lips met.

All sorts of alarms and fireworks were going off inside Ben’s brain. Rey’s lips were soft, supple and oh-so-sweet, and he was in nirvana thinking that he could stay in this kiss with Rey for the rest of his life and die a happy man. He froze, however, when he realized that she was not reciprocating, her lips unmoving and her posture rigid. He broke the kiss, mortified that he had overstepped. He couldn’t help himself, disgust starting to creep up within him. _ She doesn’t feel that way for you, dummy, and you took advantage of her anyway. _ He couldn’t keep the thought out of his mind as he started to pull away.

As he backed away, however, Rey’s hand shot out and grabbed the back of his neck. His eyes snapped up to hers, faces still so close their noses were almost touching. He could see every freckle on her gorgeous, tanned face, but it was her eyes where he focused, giving her an imploring look. 

Rey spoke first. “No one...no one’s ever wanted to kiss me before,” she admitted. “I didn’t know what to do, you caught me off guard.” 

A blush tinged her cheeks again.

“Rey, I would kiss you every day if you’d let me. I’ve had a crush on you for so long, I just never knew how to talk to you. I--” 

He never finished that thought because Rey used her hold on the back of his neck to bring his lips back to her, reciprocating his kiss in earnest. Their mouths moved in perfect unison, Rey’s hand creeping up into Ben’s hair. Ben’s right hand moved on its own accord and rested gently on her knee. His tongue traced the seam of her mouth timidly, as if he was worried she wouldn’t give permission. Her mouth opened, granting him access, and he entered a new level of paradise as their tongues swirled together.

They broke apart, a little breathless, both grinning like idiots as they resumed a respectable distance from each other, but neither willing to break eye contact or speak and ruin the moment they just shared, his hand never leaving her knee. He noticed her blush returned, and she bit her bottom lip.

“So…” she started, but trailed off.

“So.” 

“You know, I was secretly hoping something like this would happen when I demanded you give me driving lessons.” Rey admitted bashfully.

Ben’s heart did a somersault in his chest. Her admission was music to his teenage ears. He felt like he was on top of the world, while simultaneously kicking himself for not doing anything about his infatuation with her much, much earlier in the year.

“You were?” he asked, unable to keep the mixed look of awe and triumph off his face. Rey nodded.

“You’re not so subtle in your observations of me, Mr. Smooth Guy. So… I started watching you back. Waited for you to make a move. And waited, and then waited some more. Finally I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands. Create an opportunity to get to spend time with you so maybe you’d _ talk _to me, instead of just looking at me.” 

Ben’s left eye twitched at that. Here he thought he was being discreet, but he had been caught red handed. At least she wasn’t running for the hills.

She smiled. “You’re cute when you’re nervous.” 

She leaned forward and kissed him again. He melted into her immediately, moving his hand from it’s home on her knee up to cup her cheek. This kiss was sweet, brief. She smiled at him as she withdrew. She glanced at the clock, took note of the time and looked back at Ben.

“I hate to say it, but I have to be home soon. Did I pass?” she inquired, eyes shining bright like stars.

“Not even close. You’re a terrible driver.” Ben barked out a laugh as he said these words. “Lucky for you I happen to be an excellent teacher.”

“Oh really now? Seems like I didn’t learn that much today, you were holding on to your ‘Oh Shit’ handle with a death grip on our drive over here,” she teased back at him, mischief in her eyes.

“I had to see what I was working with, get a benchmark for where you are and what needs work. We have more work to do than I thought. Who dips their fries into their frosty?” 

“You’re the crazy one there! Who _ doesn’t _ dip their fries in their frosty! That’s the only way to eat them!” Rey shook her head and laughed at him. “Do you mind driving me home? I think I’ve had enough driving for today.” 

Ben nodded, and they both got out of the car and switched sides. When they met in the middle, Ben couldn’t stop himself from grabbing her around the waist and giving her another kiss, her arms coming to wrap around his neck as she rose to her tiptoes to close the gap in their heights. Now that she had let him touch her, kiss her, he didn’t think he would ever pass up another opportunity to be close to her. She laughed, breaking their kiss. “I mean it Ben! I have to get home.” 

She gave him another quick peck and then made her way to the passenger side.

Ben slid into the driver's seat, and started the car back up. They rode in companionable silence, Rey taking Ben’s free hand in hers the whole ride, only breaking the silence to direct him whenever he needed to take a turn. Eventually, much to Ben’s dismay, they arrived at Rey’s house. He put the car in park and focused his attention back on Rey. He would never tire of looking at her, especially now that he didn’t have to do it in secret.

“Same time next week?” he asked her as she gathered her bag.

“For driving lessons? Sure that works for me.” 

Her phrasing confused him for a second, then he understood what she was insinuating.“What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.

“Well, I just don’t know. I have homework, I should probably clean my room, read a book…” she looked at how Ben was trying to hide his disappointment and started laughing. “You big dork, I’m kidding! Pick me up at 2?” 

His face lit up, an unbridled smile crossing his face.

“It’s a date.” 

She beamed at that, leaning over to give him one last kiss, then opened the door and exited the car. 

She turned around just before shutting the door. “See you tomorrow, boyfriend.” 

She winked at him, shut the door and turned to walk up to her house. He watched her unlock the door and disappear inside before he put the car back in drive and started his trek home, his goofy grin never leaving his face.

Boyfriend. He could get used to that word.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos give me life, I hope you enjoyed this little bit of fluff!!!


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